The IRS has announced the procedures, and settlement cost methodology, for issuers seeking to preserve the tax-exemption of those student loan bonds that are at risk of being declared taxable due to the issuer's attempted compliance with arbitrage restrictions using a loan-swapping technique that the IRS has determined is ineffective. The closing agreement arrangements, which are only available for bonds not already under audit by the IRS, may require substantial payments from issuers that used loan-swapping and wish to avoid uncertainty as to the tax status of affected bond issues. Addiitonal detail is provided in our Advisory on this subject. http://www.mintz.com/newsletter/2012/Advisories/1742-0312-NAT-PF/index.htm